


Hancock/Sole Survivor Drabbles and short fics

by SerenityRiver12



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: Alcohol, Cigarettes, Everyone Needs A Hug, F/M, Fluff, Pre-Relationship, Recreational Drug Use, Smoking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-28
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:35:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 16,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23885350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenityRiver12/pseuds/SerenityRiver12
Summary: A collection of situations that happen between the Sole Survivor of Vault 111 and Mayor John Hancock.
Relationships: John Hancock/Female Sole Survivor
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	1. Take a break, Sunshine

**Author's Note:**

> This was going to be the only thing I wrote about Hancock and his Sunshine, but I've had a few people ask for more on them.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sole Survivor is pissed off and needs a break from a certain BoS member. Hancock gives her a little bit of peace.

Hancock was just relaxing into the couch when he heard the door downstairs slam shut and a pair of boots run up the stairs. Before he could tell whoever it was to come in, the door opens and in walks the illustrious Sole Survivor from the north.

She did not look happy.

“Well, come right in.”

She threw her pack down by the couch opposite him and plopped down on one of the cushions.

“Got any Jet, Hancock?”

“Hello to you, too. How are you on this fine day?”

She let out an irritated sigh, “Not in the mood, Hancock. Just need some Jet right now.”

Hancock lit a cigarette and took a drag before speaking, “You want some Jet, sister, you gotta humor me.”

She laid back on the couch, head on the armrest, “Well, doc, I think it all started when I was little and got bullied by the other kids for being different…”

Not oblivious to the obvious sarcasm in her voice, “That bad, huh?” He took another puff from his cigarette, “Who pissed in your Sugar Bombs?”

She stood up and started pacing, “That angry Buzz Lightyear pissed me off one too many times today with his comments.”

Vaguely remembering her reference that particular person before, “You mean that walking tin can?”

“Yeah, Preston asked me to go help out that all-ghoul settlement, and Danse would not shut up about the Brotherhood, and when he wasn’t talking about that, he would make snide comments about ghouls when he knew others were within earshot…”  
  


Hancock really didn’t care for that soldier boy she would run with from time to time, but unless he did something to her or his people, he wasn’t going to start trouble. He understood some things she told him about her past, and the Brotherhood had the best tech to help her find the Institute. He’s used to people treating him and other ghouls like crap, and nobody really cares when one gets jumped. She on the other hand, doesn’t see things the same way. She goes out of her way to help people, sometimes she wears herself out trying to fix everything, and he has to pull her back and remind her to take time for herself.

“…Why?”

She stops her pacing, “Why what?”

“Why does it bother you when he talks that way about ghouls?”

“Because you are still human. A little radiation doesn’t suddenly make you worth less than anyone else.”

Hancock leaned back and took another drag, “sounds more personal than that. I doubt you just got offended on behalf of all us ghouls…”

She crossed her arms but would wouldn’t look at him, “He… may have commented on my choice of companions when I talked about you.”

Hancock couldn’t help but feel a little pleased that Danse was bothered by him, but also intrigued by what she could have said about him. “Well, not everyone can look this good in a tricorn hat, and he’s got about as much personality as a molerat wearing a nightgown.”

That must have painted a nice image in her mind, because it made her snort.

“So, Sunshine, still want that Jet?”

She rested a hand on her hip and smirked, “What do you think?”

He leans forward to put out his cigarette, “Well, I think you should sit back and relax with me. Take a break from being everyone’s angel,” He leans back, resting his arms along the arm and back of the couch, “Practice some of that ‘self-care’ you talk about on our little adventures.”

She thinks for a few seconds on his words before joining him on the couch, “How do you do that?”

Hancock digs through his pockets, looking for another hit of Jet. “Do what?”

“Get me to stop being mad.”

He pulls out what he was looking for and held it out for her to take, “You don’t wanna get into Jet when you’re pissed off. Can lead to a bad trip. Besides, you can get pretty scary when you’re pissed. Still hot, though.”

She chuckles as she takes the Jet from him, “Wow that sounded kinda corny.”

“Yeah, yeah. Get cozy before you take a hit, cuz you won’t want to move around after.”

Kicking off her boots, she lounged against him, and rested her head on his shoulder before putting the canister of Jet up to her lips and inhaling the vapors. Thin trails of the vapor left her mouth as she exhaled and her eyes drifted shut.

“Hey, John?”

“Yeah, Sunshine?”

“Thanks.”

He adjusted himself slightly so she could rest more comfortably and so he could stroke her hair the way she liked it, “Anything for you…”

He took a hit of Jet himself, and enjoyed this brief moment of peace before she threw them back into the fire. There will always be people expecting her to be some invincible superhero, so he will always be there to remind her she is still mortal.


	2. Coffee Break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Sole Survivor has been working non-stop, and is always exhausted. Hancock hopes that his little surprise will help her slow down and take a break.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this is a bit longer than a drabble, but I think its still okay.

“Okay, I think that’s the last of them!”

The Sole Survivor and Hancock had just finished clearing out all the Super Mutants from the Super Duper Mart. She had a few settlements she was trying to get ready for people to move in, and she decided it would be easier to take what she needed from the Super Mutants instead of tracking down what she needed from traders.

“Hancock, take a look through the grocery section for any food that can be saved. I’ll take a look through clothing and appliance for any salvage.”

“Sure thing. Try not to pick up too much crap. If you carry too much, it won’t exactly be a cakewalk back to town.”

She stands up and stretches after looting some ammo off a dead Mutant, “Maybe, but isn’t that why I got you watching my back?”

Hancock chuckles, “Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy keeping an eye on it, but if I have to keep pulling it out of the fire, I’m gonna need some compensation for my services.”

She snorted, “Well, how about you get all the chems we loot from here? Would that be enough to cover the next couple fires?”

He holsters his gun and starts walking towards the grocery area, “Sure, Sunshine. Just holler if you need help trying on any dresses you find.”

As much as he complained, he was glad to help her out with this. Ever since she wasted Kellogg, she’s been pushing herself to get these settlements up and running. Nick helped out as much as he could, but he had a hard time getting her to slow down and let others help her with the bigger tasks. She would push herself to the point where she was passing out on her workbench, and wake up exhausted from the late night repairs. Hancock had a plan to help. She and Nick would talk about the old days when they would work on cases late into the night, drinking coffee to get through the workloads. His plan was to find enough coffee to fill one container, and make her a cup whenever she needed a break. Granted, any coffee he finds would probably stale and irradiated to hell, but he was gonna try.  
He managed to find several cans and boxes of food, but nothing else.

“Damn, still can’t find any coffee…”

He decided to take a look in the kitchen appliance area, on the off chance they have some cans on the display area. Sure enough, she hadn’t gotten to that area yet, and found two cans of coffee, both with about a handful of coffee grounds in them. He quickly hid them in his pack, separate from the rest of the food and headed off to the clothing area to find her.  
After they found enough sets of clothes and parts to make a few generators, they headed to the nearest settlement that already had a supply line running. For the next week while she was helping Nick track down some old tapes, Hancock checked out some of the old coffee shops and police stations around the College Square. In the end, he only found enough coffee grounds to fill half a tin. He hoped it would be enough.

One night in Sanctuary, after raiding the nearby Red Rocket for scrap metal, he found the Sole Survivor cursing and fighting with a generator.

“Hey, Sunshine. You two playing nice?”

She stood up and threw her wrench at the poor generator, “I’m the only one that’s playing fair. This piece of garbage won’t start.”

“Well, maybe you should take a break for tonight. Folks are trying to sleep, and they can’t if you keep picking a fight with machines.”

She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and starts walking past Hancock, “yeah, I’ve got some guns to clean for the morning patrols anyway-“

He grabs her arm before she gets too far, “Not what I mean, Sunshine. Come with me.”

“Hancock, I’ve got-“

“It can wait till the morning, or the others can pick up the slack and help out. Now, are you gonna follow me, or do I have to throw you over my shoulder?”

Not wanting to give the settlers something to laugh about, she followed him back to what remained of her old house.

“Sit down over there,” he pointed to the island in the kitchen area.

“Why?”

“Just sit. Oh, and close your eyes.”

“…Are you going to prank me?”

“And risk you shooting my ass? I may like to live dangerously, but im not crazy enough to prank you when you’re exhausted.”

She chuckles and sits at the counter, as asked, and covers her eyes. She hears him moving some dishes around and him pouring something.

“Did you make me dinner?”

“Nah, that’s Codsworths’ job. This is something better.”

She heard him curse under his breath, and something get placed in front of her.

“What is…” she could smell something familiar. It was faint and somewhat stale, but familiar. She uncovered her eyes and saw a small mug in front of her.

“…Is that…”

“One cup of coffee, made by yours truly.”

She stared at it in surprise for a few seconds before picking it up and bring it to her lips. It didn’t taste like it used to, slightly burnt and a little metallic tasting, but it was coffee. Something she thought she would never get to have again. 

“Well…how is it? I had to ask Nick where to find some cans, and I had Codsworth show me how to- Why are you crying?”

She couldn’t believe he went through all this trouble just to make her a damn cup of coffee. She had been through so much since she got out of the Vault, she had been trying to keep busy in order to keep her feelings and thoughts in check. 

“Damn, I thought it turned out okay, but I guess it-“

Wiping her eyes with the back of her hands, “It’s not that.”

He hugged her close and pet her head as she cried into his shirt.

“I didn’t mean to make you cry. You’ve been helping out folks a lot, which I appreciate, but you’ve been pushing yourself to fix everything and not taking enough time for yourself. Nick and I have been worried about you taking on everything yourself.”

She sniffled, “I know. I’m sorry I made you guys worry. I just- if I stay idle for too long my thoughts…”

“Hey, it’s okay. We all got things we don’t want to think about. I get it, but you shouldn’t overwork yourself. You got lots of people here that are willing to help out, and if they don’t, remind them of all the shit you’ve done for them.”

She pulled away to wipe her eyes with her sleeve, “Yeah, I know…thank you for the coffee.”

“How’s it taste?”

“Not great, but then again, black coffee has never tasted that great even before the War.”

He chucked, “Well, you and Nick talked about it enough that I thought it might help you kick back for a bit.”

She picked up the coffee cup to drink some more, “Do you want to try some?”

“Nah, I’m not much of a coffee drinker. Besides, I don’t think it’s got quite the same kick as Chems.”

As she finished the cup, they went over to the couch, and she told him about all the week she spent with Nick, going from station to station to find the Winters Tapes until she fell asleep. Once he was sure she was out, he carried her to her bed down the hall and got her tucked in before heading back to the kitchen to clean up. There was still a little coffee left in the mug she drank out of.

“Maybe…” he tried what was left and immediately spit it out. “Yeah, I’ll stick to Chems.”


	3. Rapunzel, let down your hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a few weeks of traveling together, Hancock has always seen the Sole Survivor wear some kind of hat. He has never seen how long her hair actually is, but that changes after she gets her own room in Vault 81 and has the privilege of getting to use their showers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These drabbles are not in any particular order, and are mostly just expansions on ideas from my characters' playthrough.

“Well this is…nice.”

The room the Overseer gave us as a thanks for saving one of their kids was a decent size, but looked as though it was used for storage for a while. It wasn’t as bright as the other rooms the Vault dwellers slept in and no wallpaper, but it had a bed, a desk, and some places to keep stuff.

Placing her pack near the foot of the bed and stretching, “I think I’m going to take advantage of their hot water and take a shower. I can still smell that Mole Rat stink on me.”

Hancock took off his coat, and placed it on the dresser before making himself comfortable on the bed. “I’ll just stay here and take a Jet break.”

She snorts as she digs through her pack for a change of clothes and one of those towels she looted from the Vault that Nick was trapped in, “Figured. Don’t get in trouble, and don’t share your drugs with Bobby.”

“That’s a tall order, Sunshine… but I’ll do my best.”

“That’s all I ask,” she stands up and salutes him as she walks out the door, “see you in 20.”

After the door shut behind her and he heard her footsteps fade, he reached over to his coat pocket and dug out a couple canisters of Jet. He took the first one, and just let himself drift through his memories. Went he first met the Sole Survivor of Vault 111, she had just strolled into Goodneighbor with Nick in tow. She looked tense, tired, and irritated, but looked exactly like one of those pinup girls from the old Pre-War magazines. The look on her face after he stabbed that asshole Finn, was amusing. It was a mix a relief, amusement, and a hint of something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on. The next time he saw her, she was running around dressed as that Silver Shroud character Kent obsessed over. Stayed in character the entire time she talked to him. He chuckled at the memory.

“What’s so funny?”

Hancock looked up and saw her, looking a bit damp with her towel wrapped around her head, but cleaner then when they walked into the Vault. He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn’t hear the door open.

“Nothing. I was just thinking about that thing you helped old Kent with.”

“You mean…” she made a dramatic pose and spoke as the character, “ _The Silver Shoud_?”

“Ha, yeah, that. I was just remembering how you stayed in character the entire time you were helping him.”

She broke character and started putting her dirty clothes in the bottom of her pack, “Yeah. It was fun, though. It reminded me of what I used to do before I became a lawyer…”

Watching her, something struck him. Every time he saw her, she always wore something on her head. He could see what color her hair was from the few locks of her bangs that would slip out from time to time, but he didn’t actually know…

“How long is your hair?”

She stopped and looked up at him, puzzled. “My hair?”

“Yeah, I just realized that I’ve never actually seen you with your hair down. It’s always hidden under a hat or something.”

She starts digging through her pack again, “Well, unless you have short hair, it’s a bit of a hazard. It gets tangled, caught in things, obstructs your vision, and if an enemy gets behind you, they use it against you.”

She finds the hairbrush she was looking for and sits on the opposite end of the bed. She is about to take the towel off her head when she stops.

“Brace yourself, Hancock. I doubt you’ve seen hair like mine before…”

She pulls the towel off and lets her damp hair fall. It’s long enough that it hits the bed, making it just past waist-length.

“Damn, sister… now I get what you meant by it being a hazard.”

For the next 10 minutes, she brushed out her hair working out all the tangles and trying to make it dry faster. During this, she could feel Hancock staring at her.

“Penny for your thoughts, John?”

“Hm?”

“You’re staring pretty hard there. Can’t tell if you just had a stroke or just spacing out.”

He chuckled, “Maybe I did. I was just wondering what it’s like to have hair like that,” he takes off his hat and rubs his head to make a point, “I don’t exactly have that luxury anymore.”

She thought for a moment before holding out the brush she was using.  
  
“Wanna help me brush mine?”

He looked between her and the brush, “You serious?”

She shrugged, “I mean, you don’t HAVE to if you don’t-“

He takes the brush, “No, no, no, I didn’t mean it like that. Just making sure the Jet wasn’t making me hallucinate. Um… How do you want me to do this?”

She moved to the floor and instructed him to sit behind her. Hesitantly, he brushed her hair, marveling at how soft it felt and how it glided through the brush. She would hum and sigh contently as he brushed her hair, and eventually started to drift off to sleep.

“You doing okay there, Sunshine?”

Jerking awake, “Hm? Yeah, I’m good… it’s been a long time since I let anyone touch my hair, and I forgot how relaxing it could be.”

He chuckled, “Well I’m glad I have that effect, but I don’t think it would be very comfortable to sleep on the floor.”

She agreed and pulled out a small pillow from her pack before getting back up on the bed and laying down. Hancock lounged beside her, getting his second hit of Jet ready.

“Hey, John?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you…pet my head until I fall asleep?”

He stared at her for a moment, internally cheering. “Sure thing, Sunshine.”

She smiled and thanked him as he ran his fingers through her hair. It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep, but he continued to pet her, enjoying the feeling of her hair. He took his last hit of Jet, feeling proud and wanted to savor this rare moment they shared.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please let me know what you guys think of it so far, and feel free to offer any topics I could write about!


	4. The Things We Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our Sole Survivor helps reunite a lost kid with his family, and gets reminded of the family she lost after the bombs fell. Hancock does his best to help her cope.

_“Well… today was interesting.”_ Hancock thought as he lit a cigarette.

They were just leaving Jamaica Plain, heading to the coast, when they heard someone calling for help. Turns out it was a kid. Poor kid was not only from before the War, but he spent over 200 years locked in a fridge. Hancock was kinda surprised since he hasn’t really seen ghoul kids before. She on the other hand, didn’t seem fazed. After she probed the kid for information on where his house could be, she took his hand and started walking towards Quincy. When they ran into Mirelurks and raiders, she had Hancock hid the kid and took them all on by herself. Along the way, she would talk to him and ask him things like what his name was, and what kind of things he did before the bombs fell.

Things were going well until some slaver named Bullet came up, asking to buy the kid from them. Hancock would sometimes forget that this woman was not like others, and was a bit surprised when she flat out refused to sell the kid. He had never really seen how she acts around kids before, so this side of her was new to him. She treated and protected that kid like he was her own. Even when they found his house and found out his parents had also turned into ghouls, and that asshole Bullet found us, she protected that family and killed every last one of those scumbags.

They gave her some caps as a reward for finding their son and protecting them, and they offered them a place to stay for the night, but she refused. She did promise to send someone to check on them from time to time once they got back to the Jamaica Plain settlement. They didn’t get back till late at night, and she was oddly quiet the entire walk back. Hancock knew that she wasn’t like that unless something was on her mind.

He put out what was left of his cigarette and started trying to find out where she was hiding. After a while, he found her sitting at one of the guard posts, drinking straight from a vodka bottle.

“Drinking on the job? I thought I was the only one,” Hancock mused.

“Ha, ha. I’m just covering until the next rotation in a few minutes. Guy couldn’t wait to take a piss break,” she replied before taking another swig.

“Mmhm, so what’s got ya hitting the bottle this late at night?”

She paused, thinking about her response before taking another drink, “Nothing.”

“Sunshine, ever since we left that house, you’ve been quiet, and as soon as we get back here, you start drinking. That don’t seem like nothin’ to me.”

She made a frustrated noise and got up as soon as someone came to take over the post, and walked down to the little house that was mostly intact. Hancock followed her, clearly not letting this go, mainly because he knew that if he let her drink too much, they wouldn’t be leaving until after noon and she would be snapping at him all day.

She plopped down on a little broken couch near the stairs, “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Sunshine, it’s clearly bothering you, so it’s better to get it out now.” Hancock said as he sat next to her, making it clear that he wasn’t going to let her go anywhere.

She just sat and stared at the bottle in her hand, swirling what was left of the vodka in the bottle.

“I can’t stop thinking about Billy…”

“You mean the kid?”

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

She stared at the bottle a bit longer before taking a drink, “I don’t know… just seeing him with his family brought up some memories,” She takes another drink, “…not all of them good.”

She had told him about some of what life used to be like before the bombs fell, but she didn’t talk much about her family. He knew all too well how family could be, and how hard it is to talk about it, so he didn’t press her for an explanation. He just waited for her to continue.

“Before the bombs fell… I had a home. A husband…a son,” she finished off the bottle and set it on the floor. “After we got in the vault, I knew I lost my home. What we thought were decontamination pods, were actually cryogenic freezers. The first time I ‘woke up’, I watched that dirt bag, Kellogg, kill my husband and take my son.”

“That’s the guy Nick helped you find?”

“…Yeah. As far as we know, my son is now in the hands of the Institute…and he can’t be much older than Billy.”

Hancock rubbed his face, “Damn…”

“Yeah. Bringing him back to his parents felt good, but it just reminded me of how much I really lost.”  
  
He put one of his arms around her, not really knowing how to comfort her, “…I’m sorry, Sunshine. But I think you’ll find him one day. From what I’ve seen, not much can stand in your way. Hell, any time someone tells you something’s impossible, you go ahead and do it just to prove them wrong.”

She chuckles but it sounds half-hearted. He was not good at stuff like this. They just sat in silence while he wracked his brain, trying to think of a way to cheer her up.  
  


“Do you…Want to go visit them again?”

She looked up at him, “Billy’s family?”

“Yeah, I don’t know if you noticed, but that kid looks at you like you’re some kind of superhero.”

“Nuh uh.”

“Yep. I heard him telling his parents about how you took on a bunch of monsters by yourself and came out without a scratch on you.”

“I don’t know, John…”

He squeezed her shoulder, “Hey, I think he and his folks would like to see you again. Sure, you may have missed out on some things… but that doesn’t mean you can’t still do them. You could bring them some supplies and toys for the kid.”

She mulled it over for a bit before agreeing to go back and visit them. Not right away of course. She wanted to give them time to be a family again. Until then, she started planning on what to bring Billy and his parents. Maybe she could even get him and John to play catch together. She may have lost her family, but family isn't restricted to blood relation.


	5. You Remind Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our sole survivor drops in on Hancock after taking out the Gunners with Macready. Hancock learns something new about her and himself.

Hancock is sitting comfortably at the bar in The Third Rail, listening to one of Magnolias’ songs. The little Vault dweller left with MacCready to go take out the Gunners, which meant he was stuck dealing with whatever backlog of work was left waiting for him in Goodneighbor. After three days of being held hostage by Fahrenheit, he managed to sneak away to the bar. After traveling for so long, getting dragged into every bit of trouble that girl could possibly get into, hanging around Goodneighbor was feeling a bit monotonous. As if on cue with that thought, Hancock could hear the distinct whining of a certain Ex-Gunner trudging along behind a tired-sounding Vault dweller.

“…Mac, I don’t see why you are still complaining. We made a lot of money from all the stuff we got off the Gunners.”

“Yeah, but I had to carry most of it.”

“I offered to fix up one of the power armor suits to help you carry everything, but noooo, you said it was too uncomfortable.”

“Hey, you hired me to watch your back-“

“Yeah and the laser burn from Dumb & Dumber on my thigh is a great testament to that. At least you got to carry all the weapons.”

They both took a couple empty spots at the bar, next to Hancock.

“Sounds like you two kids had fun.”

She signaled to Charlie for a couple beers, “Yeah, took out a lot of bad guys, got shot at, and got some new inventory for K-Leo and Daisy. The doc gave me something for the laser burn while Mac was selling stuff, but it still hurts if I stand on it for too long.”

Hancock chuckled as he got out a cigarette and lit it, “Mac, why are you getting my girl in trouble?”

MacCready sputtered, “Hey, I didn’t make her go with me. I could have taken them out myself…”

She snorted, “If we had trouble taking them down with just the two of us, there is no way you would have been able to do it by yourself.”

“Whatever, and besides, when did she become ‘your girl’?”

They both looked at the mayor, who was trying very hard to hide behind his cigarette.

“Yeah, this is news to me. What, is mayoral life too boring for you now? Thought you wanted a break from constantly ‘pulling my ass out of the fire’, as you put it.”

  
  
Hancock scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. He didn’t really mean it like that, but he couldn’t hide that the Vault dweller was important to him.

“Honestly, Fahr has kept me locked in the State House since you left, doing paperwork. Made me miss all the trouble you got me into.”

She laughed as she finished her beer, “Well, I’m sure Mac wants a break from me, so you’re welcome to use me as an excuse to get away for a while.”

“Aww, you don’t like my company anymore?”

“Honestly Mac you’re fun to hang around, but you remind me of a guy I dated in high school. Had such a Napoleon Complex that he wouldn’t let me wear heels at our school dance.”

Hancock laughed at MacCready as he scowled at her, “What the hell is a napoleon?”

“A French emperor back in the 1800s. He was considered short for an aristocrat and a military officer at that time, and tried to compensate for his shortness by starting wars and pushing for world conquest. Many of his enemies would make a bunch of short jokes about him.”

MacCready got off the stool, “Well this has been fun, but I’m gonna go drink away my half of the loot before you start making jokes about me. Take care, you two,” and walks back to the VIP area.

“Hey, sorry if I made you…uncomfortable at all.”

“Hancock, it’s okay. If anything, I’m glad that someone missed me.” She chuckled half-heartedly, “Funny that I had to wait till after the bombs fell to find people that actually give a damn about me.”

“Got a story to share, Sunshine?”

“Not really, but you remind me of someone I knew…”

Hancock was admittedly intrigued. She didn’t talk much about her past, much less the people she knew. While he was lost in thought about who this person that he reminded her of was, she had ordered a couple bottles of wine and a bottle of whiskey.

“What’s this for?”

“I’m celebrating a victory against the stupid odds that I beat against the Gunners, and drinking to numb the pain.”

“You’re gonna drink all that?”

“No, _we_ are going to drink all that. I never drink alone. Easy to get into trouble that way.”

He laughed, “If you say so…”

They drank for the next 2 hours, talking about what happened during the last 3 days, explaining what Murphy’s Law is, how she and Mac had to keep stopping because of Rad storms and having to run past raiders and Super Mutants while carrying all that they salvaged. They had half a bottle of whiskey left before Charlie kicked them out, and they stumbled outside. Hancock was considerably less drunk than the Vault dweller, so she relied heavily on him to keep her from falling over. Instead of dragging her up all those stairs in the Hotel Rexford, he suggested she sleep it off at the State House. Every time she tripped over her own feet or the steps, she started laughing, which honestly, Hancock missed hearing. She rarely kicked back and relaxed, being caught up in the mountain of work it took to maintain the settlements.

“Alright Sunshine, just a little further…”

“Yur soo nice to me, John.”

“Well, don’t go spreading it around. Got a reputation to maintain.”

He managed to get her to sit on the couch and helped her get her gear and boots off.

“…You remind me of him.”

“So you’ve said. So who is this mystery guy I remind you so much of?”

“Mmm, guy I went to school with. Freelance bartender, funny and nerdy.”

“Hm. Old boyfriend?”

“No. Did have a crush on him, but not for the reasons you think.”

He moved her to lay down on her side, in case she puked, and sat beside her, “Oh? What was so special about the guy?”

She played with the cuff of his coat while she thought about what to say, “Hmm…he was special to me. I don’t always feel comfortable around people, but he made me feel…” She yawned, “…feel safe an’ easy around him. Like I was normal ‘n had no worries around him.”

“Ah, and how do I remind you of him? Can’t imagine someone like you runnin’ around with guys like me.”

She was starting to fall asleep. “He wasn’t like that, but you make me feel safe. Like I can be myself around you.”

Hancock was touched. That was one of the nicest damn things he ever heard someone say about him. He learned a while ago that most folk are uncomfortable around ghouls and fear them, so he was used to people giving him the cold shoulder and treating him like dirt. Only way you could get respect was through fear and a lot of dead bodies. Then this clean-cut girl, looking like she jumped out of one of those old Pre-War Ads, shows up in a Vault suit, walks into his life and starts turning everything upside-down, giving people hope and does it all without asking for much of anything in return.

He moved some stray bits of hair out of her face as she was falling asleep, “Thanks, Sunshine…you get some sleep, okay? You had a lot to drink.”

He couldn’t think of anything else to say, so he just let her sleep. He kicked back on the other couch, taking a hit of Jet, and just…watching her while he went over her words in his mind. If he believed in karma, there was no way someone like him deserved to have someone like her around, but now he was gonna make sure he was worthy of the trust she had in him.


	6. Saudade

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hancock makes a big deal over nothing... or its a bigger deal than he though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really want to thank @SlipperySkell for helping me out with writing and describing the character actions!  
> If you like Fallout fics, go check out their works!

First time he heard her was when she was sitting at the workbench at the Red Rocket. Whenever she wanted to work uninterrupted, she would go there with Dogmeat. She had been gone long enough to miss dinner, so Hancock brought what Mama Murphy had set aside for her. The music he heard come from the shop sounded like one of Magnolia’s songs, but it sounded different. When he hit the button to open the garage door, the music had stopped. When he asked about the music, she claimed it was just the radio she had by the workbench, but when he checked later that night, it was missing quite a few of the parts that it needed in order to actually work.

The second time was when he was passing by her house. This time he was a bit more discreet and tried to get closer to hear it. As he got to the doorway between the living room and the kitchen, he heard the radio she had set up in the kitchen and saw her singing along with it while cleaning some dishes she picked up from the last Vault scrounge. She was good, and could match the voice on the radio almost perfectly.

_‘I’ve known her for, what, four months now and this is the first time I’ve heard her sing? Or maybe she didn’t want me to know? Maybe I’m the only one that didn’t know she could sing.’_

Hancock couldn’t have been the only one to notice, so he went to the only other person she spent most of her time with: Nick Valentine. Very little gets by him, on account of him being a detective. He had to have noticed something like this when they were working together. He found Nick sitting at a desk in the little makeshift office that she set up to handle cases, trade agreements, and other Minutemen duties. She liked having everything organized, for whatever reason.

Hancock walked in and knocked on the doorframe, “Hey, Nick.”

“Well if it isn’t my old friend, the mayor. Don’t see you much these days," He leans back in his chair, pushing the file he was reading aside, "Is our little Vault dweller staying out of trouble?”

“You know her, Can’t take two steps without being ass-deep in a firefight." He pulled out a cigarette from a crumpled box in his coat pocket, and lights it before taking a drag, "That’s not why I’m here though.”

“Ah, so not a social call then?”

“Not really. Wanted to ask you about our little friend." Hancock took a seat across from Nick, "You’ve traveled with her for a while, right?”

“…Yeah, last time we traveled, she was helping me with a case.”

Hancock scratched the back of his head, “Did you ever catch her…singing?”

Nick gave him a suspicious look, “Where is this going?”

“I’ve caught her singing a couple times, most recently today. But the last time I asked her about it, she denied it. Claimed it was just the radio.”

"Is that all?" Nick pulled out a cigarette and lit it was he was thinking, “Let’s see… I think I heard her hum a tune a few times, but it was only when she was practicing using her sniper rifle, or when she got bored.”

“Did you ask her about it?”

“Hancock, what’s this really about? If her singing bothers you-“

“Shit, no. It’s not like that,” he sighed, “It’s just… I don’t know.”

“Hancock, take my advice and just go talk to her. That’s the only way you are going to find anything out.”

“Yeah, yeah…" Hancock put out his cigarette before getting up, "nice talking with you, Nick.”

Hancock walked back over to her house, trying to think of what to say… and came up with nothing good. She was putting the dishes she cleaned away when he walked into the house. She was still humming with the radio and didn’t notice him.

“Um…Hey, Sunshine. Got a minute?”

She stopped humming and smiled at him, “Hey, is everything okay?”

“Yeah, just uh… wanted to talk about something.” He rubbed the back of his neck, “We’ve known each other a while now, and things have been pretty good-“

“Wait, is this a friendship breakup?”

“What? No. I’m just…I know you don’t like talking much about your life before the bombs fell-“

“You’re right, I don’t,” she walks over to the other side of the Kitchen Island and sits on one of the stools. “Come on,” she pats the chair next to her, “Sit.”

Hancock reluctantly sat next to her.

“Now, what’s bothering you?”

“Um, you remember when I brought you dinner when you were working down at the Red Rocket?”

“…Yeah?”

“And I asked you if that was you singing before I opened the door?”

Crossing her arms across her chest, "Yeah," she said, confused. "What are you trying to say?"

"Well," Hancock started, his voice trailing off as he tried to find the right way to say it. "Guess I was... wondering why you don't sing around me?"

Her brow furrowed. "I don't-"

"Nick said you sang when you were doing jobs with him."

"Why is this an issue?" She pressed.

"It's not," Hancock says, throwing up his hands defensively. "Just count me curious, is all. You don't have to tell me if you don't want."

She backs off a bit, and sighs. "I-..." Her voice faltered. "I haven't sung in front of people in a really long time." She starts slowly. "The last time I sang at all was for my son." She looked away, a faraway, wistful look in her eyes. "Nick has helped me a lot since I got out of that Vault, so to me, he's... seen enough of me that my singing isn't anything to get embarrassed over."

Hancock cocked his head to the side, confused. "So... you're embarrassed to sing?"

"Back when I was going to college, I needed money to pay for textbooks and food," she stated as if this were common knowledge. "You know, since scholarships only covered so much."

Hancock had no idea what half of what she was saying meant, but he knew better than to let his curiosities get the better of him and interrupt.

"I had a friend who had a friend - they ran a club, and they got me a job as a singer there. It..." she paused and rested her head on her hand with her elbow on the counter, a small smile forming on her face. "It made feel so good - the singing. I got share something I loved doing, and the people that came to hear me made me feel appreciated." Her smile faded just as quickly as it came. "But when you're a woman trying to get established as a lawyer, it's... kind of hard for people to want to take you seriously." She sighed. "So, I... had to quit the job. Eventually, it wasn't anything more than just some part of my life I didn't want to think about."

Hancock watched her for a moment, feeling foolish for making such a big deal out of something that was clearly a touchy subject for her. "I... I'm sorry, Sunshine, I-"

She shook her head, confused. "Oh, no, don't worry about it - it's not that big of a-"

"No," he said suddenly, making her flinch. "I... no, we got a good thing going and I shouldn't've been acting like an ass. I'm sorry."

She blinked, before that chipper little smile came back to her and she walked over and put an arm around him. "We do have a good thing going, don't we?"

Hancock grinned. "Yeah, we do."

She sighed, the smile lessening. "I'm... I am trying to be more open, but it's... it's hard. I had a habit of trusting the wrong people, and now everything's gone... it's hard to just..." She shrugged. "Be me again. Especially around people."

Hancock chuckled, to her surprise. "I know. Trust me, I do. Reliable people are hard as hell to come by, but... you can trust me. If I run my mouth a little too much and you start gettin' uncomfortable, just tell me. I'll shut my trap till you're ready, heh."

She looked up and smiled at him, bigger than ever. "Thanks, John."

He squeezed her shoulder, “Don’t mention it, Sunshine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Struggled to find a title that fit until I came across this word:
> 
> Saudade - Portuguese origin. means "the love that remains"  
> used to explain the feeling of missing something or someone, or to tell about something that you used to have (and liked) but don't have anymore.  
> It’s the recollection of feelings, experiences, places or events that once brought excitement, pleasure, well being, which now triggers the senses and makes one live again. It describes a deep nostalgic longing. It brings sad and happy feelings all at once;  
> Sadness from missing something loved and happiness for having experienced the love.


	7. Change of Heart (Pt. 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> our Sole Survivor has gone missing. As Nick Valentine and Hancock go looking for her, they find a possible reason for her disappearance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (This story references a quest that is part of the Interesting NPCs Mod. *warning spoilers for Love and Peace quest*)

He didn’t notice anything was wrong when they got back from saving those hippies from raiders. He didn’t see the tears she was fighting back as she picked up the little girl’s limp body and carried her back to her family. That night, she didn’t talk to anyone. She just sat on the floor of what was left of the nursery in her house, listening to some holotapes about a squirrel. He didn’t think anything was wrong until he didn’t see her leave her house for a week. When he went inside to check on her, he discovered she wasn’t even there. There was no way that she could have left without him, or at least without telling someone, right? He asked around, but no one saw her leave. He stood near the bridge leading into Sanctuary, so lost in thought that he didn’t hear Nick walking up.

“Well if it isn’t Mayor Hancock, you the new town greeter?”

“…Hm? Oh, hey Nick.”

“Something on your mind, John?”

“Not really,” he looked up at Nick, “Hey, you didn’t see our little Vault dweller on your way up here, did you?”

Nick rubbed his chin as he thought for a moment, “No, can’t say that I have. Why, did something happen?”

“Haven’t seen her in a few days. Didn’t say where she was going, and no one saw her leave.”

“Maybe she went to go help out another settlement.”

“No, I checked with Preston. Everything’s been quiet since they got more recruits at The Castle.”

“Well, let’s check her place and see if she left a note anywhere.”

They both walked down the road to her house, running into Dogmeat along the way.

As Nick walked in, “Alright, you check in the kitchen and I’ll check her room.”

All three searched the place carefully, looking for anything that would be considered out-of-place for her. After a while, Dogmeat barked, alerting the others that he found something. They found him crouched down in the nursery, with his nose shoved under the broken changing table.

Nick knelt down by him, “What did you find?” he reached under and pulled out an almost empty whiskey bottle and a dirty holotape. He pets Dogmeats head, “good boy.”

Hancock bent down to get a look at what Nick was holding, “Is that a holotape?”

“Yeah,” he hands it to him, “do you recognize it?”

Hancock takes the tape, turning it over to find the title scribbled on its side, _‘The New Squirrel- Tape 2’._ “This is one of the tapes she picked up when we were at Fiddler’s Green. Some kind of kids’ story, I think.”

Nick stood up and brushed off the sleeves of his coat, “Fiddler’s Green, huh? Think that’s just north of Fort Hagen.” He set the whiskey bottle down on the table, “Should be able to get there by nightfall if we leave now.”

Hancock looked up at him, pocketing the holotape, “Think she went back there?”

“It’s worth taking a look.”

~~~

It was just getting dark when they arrived at the trailer park, and only a few people were still awake. An older man with grey hair approached them, “Hey man, we didn’t expect to see you again so soon.”

Hancock tipped his hat, “Cosmos. How are things?”

“Some of us are still healing, but we’re doing okay,” he looks behind Hancock, “Who’s your friend?”

He gestures with a wave of his hand, “This is a friend of mine, Nick Valentine. He’s a detective from Diamond City.”

Nick tipped his hat, “Nice to meet you.”

“We were hoping you could help us with something.”

Cosmos gestured for them to follow him into the little office where Starchild was sitting in the corner, listening to the radio. “Well, we don’t have much but we owe you after you saved our lives.”

“Did our Vault dweller pass through here recently?”

Cosmos thought for a moment, “No, I don’t think so…Wait, I think she might have.”

Nick raised an eyebrow, “You think?”

“This morning we noticed a teddy bear on Crystal Moonbeams grave that wasn’t there before. No one knows how it got there.”

“Can we see it?”

Cosmos lead them over to the small grave by the little fence, with some cut corn flowers and a teddy bear. Nick picked up the bear to inspect it. It was well-worn, but it was obvious someone had stitched it up and patched the parts that were torn.  
  


“What do you think, Nick?”

“hm…” he looked it over a bit more before setting it back down, “It looks like her work, but I can’t be certain.” Nick looked up at Cosmos, “What happened to the girl?”

Cosmos looked at the grave with a mournful expression on his face, “Crystal Moonbeam was taken by super mutants. We don’t approve of violence and there was no way we could save her ourselves. Raiders were coming for us, and your friend thought she could save her if she took care of the raiders fast enough…”

“But we didn’t,” Hancock interjected, “we didn’t make it in time. Kid was dead when we got there.”

Nick rubbed his face, muttering quietly, “that poor kid...” he looked at Cosmos, “Would it be okay if we stayed for the night?”

“You are more than welcomed to stay, we have plenty of room.”

Hancock and Nick thanked Cosmos and found a quiet place away from the others. They didn’t find her, but they had some proof she was here recently.

“So what’s the plan, Nick?”

He took out a cigarette from the crumpled box in his coat pocket, placing it in his mouth before taking out his flip-lighter and lighting it, “We go back to Sanctuary.”

Hancock looked at him a bit surprised, “Go back? What about-“

Nick took a drag of the cigarette before cutting him off, “We’re going to wait for her to come back. She didn’t leave a trail for us to find because she doesn’t want to be found right now.”

Hancock put his hands in his pockets, frustrated with his response. “What do you mean, she don’t want to be found?”

“She’s a mother who’s had her kid taken from her, and she made a choice that cost a little girl her life. She probably having a hard time dealing with her grief, being surrounded by things that remind her of things she lost, and doesn’t want to be around us while she’s working through it.”

Hancock fumbles around for a cigarette of his own while he listens to Nick, “Why would she just leave without telling anyone?”

Nick smirked, “You mean make herself suffer in silence like the rest of us?”

Hancock was about to put the cigarette he found in his mouth but stopped when Nick said that, “…fair point.”

Nick handed him the lighter, and Hancock gave it back after lighting his cigarette, “I’ll have some people keep an eye out for her, but all we can do right now is wait.”

Hancock hoped Nick was right. All they could do was wait.


	8. Change of Heart (Pt. 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nick and Hancock finally have a lead on where their Vault dweller has gone, and its not good.

Hancock was leaning over the railing of the Statehouse, working on his 4th cigarette of that morning. Nick said he had news on their vault dweller and would stop by Goodneighbor. It had been a month since she disappeared and no one had seen or heard anything. Preston, Nick and Piper have been doing their best to take care of the needs of all the settlements, and the Minutemen have done what they can when it comes to protecting some of the settlements people rely on for food. Hancock knew their little Vault dweller could handle herself in a fight, but they were all starting to worry about her.

When he saw Nick appear around the corner, he put out his cigarette and met him in front of the Third Rail.

Nick tipped his hat, “Afternoon, Mayor Hancock.”

“Good to see you, Nick. Locals give you any trouble?”

He gestured towards the entrance of Goodneighbor, “traffic has been getting heavy lately, but I managed to get around it okay.”

Hancock nodded, “Good, join me for a drink? My treat.” He gestured towards the door to the Third Rail.

“As long as you’re buyin’, why not?”

They both strolled downstairs to the bar, ordered a couple drinks, and chatted for a bit before getting to business.

“So, Nick, you said you had news for me?”

He finished his drink before speaking, “A merchant family came to Diamond City a few days ago from out west… by Nuka-World.”

“Nuka-World, huh? Whats so special about it?”

“Before the war, it was this massive theme park. These days its had some raider traffic, but they aren’t like the raiders we know. These guys are more organized and have higher aims than just getting high and killing for sport.”

Hancock gave him a sideways glance, “So, a raider kingdom. Whats this got to do with our girl?”

“The family said they were helped out by a woman in a long black coat and a pink pistol. Told them to head out to Diamond City instead of Nuka-World.”

The black coat could have been anyone, but the pink gun? That sounded a lot like their Vault dweller. After she wasted Kellogg, she took his gun and painted it bright pink, as a final middle finger to the guy that stole her son and killed her husband. A small part of Hancock wanted to believe it was her, but doing so would suggest she went to this Nuka-World to take out a whole city’s worth of raiders, which even he knew would be a suicide mission.

Hancock took out a cigarette and lit it before offering one to Nick, “If it is her…”

Nick accepts the cigarette and lights it, “Based on the description they gave me, I’m fairly certain it’s her. I sent someone to check out the park entrance to see if theres been any sign of her, just to be safe. Told him to come here after.”

“Who?”

“Me,” MacCready came up and sat next to Hancock. He looked tired. “How’s it going, Hancock?”

He looked over at MacCready, “Better than you look right now.”

MacCready scowled at him, “Gee, thanks. I guess you don’t want to know what I found, then?”

He put up both hands in surrender, “Okay, okay, sorry. Tell us what you found.”

MacCready orders a beer from Charlie, “Well, I went out there expecting the place to be crawling with raiders. Instead, I found raiders AND Gunners.”

Nick interjected, “I thought the raiders and Gunners didn’t get along?”

“They don’t, but that’s not the weirdest thing. The raiders and Gunners I found were all dead, and had been for a while.”

“Well, sure, they probably-“

“They didn’t kill each other,” MacCready interrupted Hancock. “They were all killed with the same weapon, a .44, by the look of it.”

Nick rubbed his chin, “A .44 huh? That’s the same caliber as Kellogg’s gun. Could be just a coincidence, though.”

“That’s what I thought, until I found a guy hiding in the station. The raider boss apparently makes him trick people into going to Nuka-World, where they are forced to run though some kind of death gauntlet for sport. Anyone that makes it through is usually killed outright. Merchants that pass though there are fitted with bomb collars and turned into slaves,” He takes a drink, “According to this guy, he convinced our little friend to go to Nuka-World to save his family, which of course is a lie.”

Hancock gave him a questioning look, “And he just told you all of this?”

“Well, he didn’t want to, at first. Something about his boss killing him if he told anyone their scheme, but I convinced him that the alternative was me leaving him to bleed out after I take out both of his legs.”

They all talked for a while before calling it a day. MacCready went with Nick back to Diamond City, and Hancock went back up to the Statehouse. He kept thinking about what MacCready said about Nuka-World. He wouldn’t let himself think for a moment that she could be dead. She’s done a lot that would have killed most people, worked herself to the point of exhaustion to make sure others were safe.

He sighed, rubbing his face, “I need a drink…”

He got out a bottle of whiskey that the Vault dweller had given him a while back, and plopped down on the couch. He wouldn’t show it, but he had started to feel responsible for what happened with her. He usually notices when there’s something bothering her, so how come he missed this? He knew what happened with her kid, and even though she never talked about her past much, she was probably still blaming herself for what happened. Kids don’t always last long in the ‘Wealth. If they don’t die from radiation poisoning, they either get killed by raiders or taken by slavers. He tended to forget that the Vault dweller came from a time where it was rare for kids to die young, and they didn’t have things like raiders and slavers to worry about.

The more he thought about it, the more he drank. He was a shitty friend. Of course she would take that kid’s death hard. She made it her job to help everyone, and losing that kid was probably like losing her son all over again. She probably felt like she failed them, a feeling that Hancock was all too familiar with. He hoped that she would come back soon, and he swore that he would make it up to her… Somehow.


	9. Change of Heart (final)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vault dweller has come back, but when they find out what she's been doing, everyone is conflicted.

A week passed since meeting with Nick and MacCready. Hancock wanted to just wallow in his regret and self-pity, but Fahrenheit gave him a swift kick and told him to pull his head out of his ass, and do his job. He decided that she was half right, and went up to Sanctuary to avoid doing work, at least. Their Vault dweller had done a good job setting it up so it looked like a community. She made sure everyone had a place to sleep and eat, set up shops and a small clinic, and even built a nice little place with a Bar for people to relax. He wasn’t any good with farming, but he helped keep the clinic stocked with chems, and has even covered guard shifts once in a while. Things were pretty quiet, until later that day. It was getting late and Hancock was leaving the bar when he heard a commotion near the entrance of Sanctuary. Having nothing better to do, Hancock went over to investigate, and found Nick and Piper talking with Preston, who had a sour look on his face.

“Nick, are you sure about this? This doesn’t sound like something Blue would do.” Piper said worriedly.

“I didn’t believe it either, but my sources are reliable. At least we know she’s alive.” Nick sounded conflicted.

Hancock walked up, “What’s going on? Who’s alive?”

Nick and Piper looked over at Hancock, while Preston looked like he was lost in his thoughts.

Reading the tense energy, “Is this something to do with our Vault dweller?”

Nick hesitantly responded, “Yeah, I got some reports that she’s been spotted around the Mass Turnpike…”

“Well, that’s good right?”

Nick rubbed his chin before responding, “She’s not traveling alone. She’s got what sounds like a merc with her, but there’s another thing that’s got me concerned.”

Hancock noticed Preston grip his musket tighter, and Piper fidget further away from him, “…What could be so-“

“One of my sources said there’s a new raider boss in Nuka-World.”

No way.

“…and they said our Vault dweller is the new raider Overboss.”

Hancock couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The Vault dweller leading the raiders? That couldn’t be true.

Piper looked behind her and nudged Nick, “Nick… Who’s that?”

They all looked towards the bridge and saw two people walking up, a guy with an eye patch, wearing what looked like raider armor, and someone in a suit of power armor with a Nuka-Cola paint job. They stopped in front of the group once they crossed the bridge.

Nick was the first to speak, “It’s been a while, kid.”

A female voice spoke from the power armor, “Nice to see you again, Nicky.”

It was the Vault dweller. Preston looked as if he was going to shoot someone, Piper looked shocked, and Hancock had a look of shock, confusion and anger. No one saw this coming.

The Vault dweller looked around at her friends, “Did… I come at a bad time?”

“No, but I don’t think anyone was expecting you… especially since you disappeared for 6 weeks.” Nick said, carefully.

“Heh, true. I suppose you all have questions…”

“You’re damn right we do.” Hancock said as he crossed his arms in irritation.

Nick held up a hand and gestured to take it easy. Piper spoke up after the initial shock wore off, “What are you doing, Blue?”

She sighed, “I’ll tell you, soon.” She looked over at Preston, who refused to look at her. “Hey, Prest-“

“No.” he cut her off coldly, and walked away.

“I…”

“He’ll be okay. He just needs some time to cool off. Why don’t we all find a spot to sit down and talk? I’m sure your, uh, friend here wouldn’t mind giving us a chance to catch up.”

The guy Nick was referring to looked up at the Vault dweller for confirmation. “Its okay, Gage. There’s a bar down the road you can wait at.” She assured him.

“If you say so, Boss.” Gage replied skeptically.

“Uh…” Piper said nervously, “Why don’t I show him where it is?”

Piper lead Gage down the road, leaving the Vault dweller, Nick, and Hancock alone. They all went over to her old house, since it gave them a certain amount of privacy. As she parked her power suit in the carport and stepped out of it, Hancock and Nick noticed she looked a bit different. She was wearing a Nuka-Cola shirt and jeans, which revealed more scars than she had left with, and she was noticeably thinner.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead, “Shall we go in?”

They followed her inside to her kitchen, where she pulled out beers for all of them from the icebox she fixed.

As Nick sat at the kitchen island and opened his beer, “So… you’ve been busy these past few weeks.”

She scoffed, “I see you’ve been keeping tabs on me.”

“What can I say? Old habits die hard for a detective.”

Hancock quietly accepted the beer offered to him and leaned against the nearby wall. She opened hers and took a drink before speaking, “Well, where do I start?”

“How about Fiddler’s Green?” Hancock suggested.

She looked between them confused, “What do you-“

“We went down there, looking for you.” Nick interrupted. “We asked a guy, Cosmos I think, if he had seen you, and he pointed us to a teddy bear that appeared on a kid’s grave.”

She was quiet for a minute, and stared at the beer in her hand with a faraway look on her face. “Yeah, I left one that I fixed up on her grave. I promised I would get her one the next time I was in the area. Something in me just snapped when she died, you know? Just one more person I failed…”

“No one blames you for that, kid. You did the best you could.”

She laughed dryly, “Yeah, well,” she took another drink before responding to Nick, “I got sick of always getting screwed over for trying to do the right thing, so I decided I wanted to be on the winning side, for once.”

Nick looked over at Hancock, who was scowling, before looking back at her, “What winning side?”

“I went to Nuka-World. I didn’t really plan on becoming the Overboss, but Gage insisted they needed a change in management, and I was the best option he had. He’s not the type to lead, himself, but he’s got no problem telling me what to do.”

“I don’t fucking believe it…” Hancock growled as he set the beer down. “You joined the raiders.”

“These guys aren’t like the other ones out here. These guys have a code of sorts, twisted as they may be, but they follow their rules and the rules set by the Overboss.”

“You joined RAIDERS,” Hancock started to raise his voice as he spoke. “They enslave people, and the ones they don’t take as slaves, they kill for sport.”

“Hey,” she pointed at Hancock, “Yes they have slaves, but I’ve done my best to make sure they are treated well and that they haven’t taken any new ones, like that family I ran into. I sent them to Diamond City.”

“I know,” Nick interrupted, “The family made it to Diamond City and told me about how you helped them.”

She sighed as she rubbed her temples from exhaustion, “The raider gangs have been getting antsy lately, so I’ve spent the last few weeks clearing out sections of the park so they have a bit more room to play with. Last week, one of the groups threw a temper tantrum over getting less space than the others, and rioted. Had to put them all down, and they gave me a nice little parting gift.” She lifted her shirt to reveal some bruises that bloomed over a few ribs. “Gage was against me coming out here alone, so he talked me into letting him tag along.”

“Gage. Huh?” Nick mused, “I know it’s none of my business, but-“

She rolled her eyes, “It’s not like that. He’s put a lot of faith in me that I’ll be a good boss… and frankly, I don’t think he wants to have to train another person if something happens to me.”

Both of them were quiet. Hancock was still mad, but less so after seeing the bruises.

“So…are you all still mad at me?”

Nick sighed, “Well, that depends. Are you going to stay? Lot of folks here depend on you, and your son is still in the hands of the Institute. Are you really going to leave him behind to play King of the Raiders?”

She frowned, “I don’t know. I’m not really in any condition to get my son, and I don’t even know how I’m going to get into the Institute…” she looked over at Hancock, who still looked mad, “John?”

He didn’t even reply. He just looked at her then walked out to the backyard. She looked at Nick, who suggested she go talk to him. She went outside and found him lighting a cigarette.

“John?”

He wouldn’t look at her, so she tried again. “John, do you hate me now?”

He hesitated. No, he didn’t hate her, but he couldn’t help but feel a bit betrayed since she was better to him than his own brother.

She stood right beside him, “Please say something.”

“You left.”

“I know.”

“You ran away from your friends and responsibilities, and left us to pick up the slack.”

She frowned and responded with irritation, “I needed to escape for a bit. I expected you of all people to understand how I felt,” she crossed her arms, “or do you think you are the only one that’s allowed to run from his problems?”

He grimaced and looked at her, “That’s a low blow.”

“Maybe, but you’re mad at me for doing the same thing you’ve done for years.”

She was right. He’s run away from a lot of things he’s done because he felt like a failure. He even turned into a ghoul just so he didn’t have to look at himself anymore.

He threw down his cigarette and stamped it out, “Look, I’m...” he rubbed his face with his hand and turned to face her, “I’m sorry. We’re friends, and I didn’t notice when you were hurtin’. I don’t know why I didn’t pick up on it, but I’ve been feeling like, you wouldn’t have left if I-“

She held up her hand, “John, it’s okay.”

“No it ain’t, Sunshine. We’ve been through a lot together, and you’ve treated me better than I deserve. Been goin' over in my mind what I could've done to get someone like you. I'll tell ya, there ain't a lot.”

She was so taken aback by his words that she didn’t know what to say.

“So… we good?”

She nodded, but she looked like she was about to cry. He held out an arm, offering to give her one of the hugs she used to ask for. She tentatively accepted.

Slightly muffled, “I’m sorry, John.”

He patted her head, “It’s all good, Sunshine. Next time you’re feeling down, just give one of us a nudge.”

She let go to look up at him, “Alright.”

“Good. Now, what are you going to do about the raiders, ‘Boss’?”

“I… don’t know. I’ve put a lot of work into that place, but I don’t know how long I can keep them from coming out here.”

He shoved his hands in his pockets, “Well, you gotta figure something out if you wanna come back. I’m not gonna run with someone that kills folk that don’t deserve it, and I’m pretty sure Preston wanted to shoot you when he heard about you being a raider boss.”

She rubbed her hands, feeling conflicted, “Yeah, I figured he would be pissed at me. I… need some time to think about what I’m gonna do.”

He sighed and put his arm around her shoulders, leading her to the Bar she set up. “Well, while you think about it, let’s get some food in you. You look like you haven’t been eating right since you left.”

“I’ve been eating…mostly junk and canned food.”

When they got to the bar, they found Piper in full reporter mode, chatting with Gage who responded tepidly. Nick was by the bar, talking with the Vault-Tec Rep that she invited to stay in Sanctuary. Preston was nowhere to be seen, but she figured she would give him time to work out his anger before trying to talk to him. For now, she was going to enjoy being back home before she walked back into the lion’s den.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please let me know what you thought of this! this was much longer than i wanted it to be, but i think i liked how it turned out.


	10. Happy Birthday, Sunshine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the Vault dweller's birthday and everyone is planning something special!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned on having this done and posted last month, but life started getting a bit crazy and my unfinished cosplays were piling up, but now its done!

Nick and Hancock were siting by a cooking station near the entrance to Sanctuary, waiting for their Vault dweller to arrive. Preston got word of some trouble at the Sunshine Tidings settlement, and asked her to go help them out. That particular settlement usually gets targeted by raiders, which are no problem for the Vault dweller, however, it was taking longer than normal for her to return.

Hancock was lounging in one of the broken chairs when he spoke to Nick, “How long has she been gone?”

“Let me see…” Nick said as he got up and leaned against one of the supports of the run-down house, and reached into his coat to pull out a pocket watch, “I’d say it’s been about six hours, give or take.”

Hancock sighed, “She’s probably tinkering with shit, again.”

A few of the times Hancock has gone with her to help out a settlement, she would take care of the main problem, then run around helping with a bunch of little things; repairing a generator, fixing a radio, and one time she used scrap she was collecting for a project and rigged up a watering system for a settlements crops.

“Think she’ll forget?”

Looking at his watch again, “She said she would be back by sundown, at the latest.”

Hancock looked up to reply, and noticed the watch shine in the light of the sun that was starting to set. “Pretty nice watch you got there, Nick.”

“Why, thank you. Our illustrious Vault dweller gave it to me as a late birthday present.”

Hancock gets up and walks over to Nick, “I didn’t know it was your birthday.”

“It’s not, it was a few months ago. I guess she and Elle got talking and found out about it, so she got me this. Said she felt bad for missing it.”

Inspecting it more closely, the pocket watch didn’t look like the others they had looted before. This one was really polished, and it had a faint etching of a heart with an arrow through it on the cover, along with the initials N.V. inside the heart. “That must have taken her a while…”

“Probably. It’s not easy to find one in useable condition, or one that still works. She even put an inscription on the inside.”

Nick tilted the watch towards Hancock to show the inscription: ‘ _“He felt like somebody had taken the lid off life and let him see the works.”― Sam Spade’_

The significance of the quote was lost of Hancock, but he was no less impressed with the amount of effort their Vault dweller put into it. “I guess birthday gifts were a big thing back before the war?”

As Nick puts the watch back in his pocket, “Yeah, some people would have big parties to celebrate a person’s birthday, though I think the last time I went to one was when I was a kid. Think Elle talked about having a small celebration for her, something about not getting to have one the year the bombs went off.”

“…Why don’t we?”

“What?”

“Why don’t we throw a party for her? I’m sure the others would like to do somethin’ for her, too.”

Nick rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “Well, maybe, but I don’t know when her birthday is. Come to think of it, I don’t even know how old she is. Granted, I’ve never asked. It was considered to be rude to ask a woman her age.”

Hancock scoffed. Some of the social norms from before the War sounded ridiculous to him, but he also didn’t know her age. It never really occurred to him to ask, until now. At that moment, Codsworth had spotted the pair, and hovered over to them.

“Good evening. Has she returned yet?”

Nick took out a cigarette and lit it, “Not yet, Codsworth.”

“Hey, Codsworth, you wouldn’t happen to know when our Vault dweller’s birthday is, would ya?”

“Of course! Her birthday is in exactly…13 days, 10 hours and 22 minutes.”

“What do you think of having a birthday party for our Vault dweller?”

“A splendid idea!” Codsworth exclaimed enthusiastically, “I believe I still have a recipe for a cake, but I shall require some assistance in locating the ingredients. How many people would be in attendance?”

Nick took a drag on his cigarette while thinking, “Well, there’s me, Hancock, you, MacCready, Piper, Cait, Curie, Audrey, Preston…”

“Don’t forget about Dogmeat,” Hancock interjected, “He wouldn’t like to be left out.”

“Very well, then.” Codsworth affirmed, “I shall make a list of the necessary ingredients, as well as party supplies.”

Hancock nodded, “Good, now we just need to keep everything a surprise until the party.”

“Oh, this is so exciting!” Codsworth exclaimed.

“What’s exciting?”

They all turned and saw the Vault dweller and MacCready entering Sanctuary and walking towards them.

“Um…” Hancock hesitated. “Nick was just telling us about one of his cases-“

“Well it wasn’t really my case,” Nick interrupted, “I was just recounting that vault murder we stumbled across up in Far Harbor.”

MacCready eyed the pair suspiciously, but didn’t say anything.

“Ahh, that was pretty exciting. It was just like being a detective in one of those murder mystery novels.” She stretched, “Well, Mac and I are gonna store the junk we salvaged and pass out some of the gear picked up to the other settlers.”

MacCready gestured towards the three, “I’m gonna hear the rest of this story and catch up with you in a bit.”

She shrugged and went on down the road. Once MacCready was sure she was out of earshot, he turned to the guys, “So what are you guys hiding?”

“What makes you think that?” Hancock replied.

“I’ve grown up around kids. You can always tell when someone is hiding something.”

Hancock scratched the back of his head, “Alright, but you can’t tell her anything about this,” he gestured where the Vault dweller had walked away. “Her birthday is comin’ up, and we are planning a party for her.”

“Oh, why didn’t you say so? I’m in.”

“Great,” Nick responded, “Now we just gotta get the others involved and plan who’s doing what.”

The four of them talked for a while, figuring out what they needed, and where they could find it. Once a list was made, they found the others and assigned tasks; Nick and MacCready would get some of the harder-to-find things from traders, Piper and Curie would find things to use for decorations, Preston would be in charge of helping Codsworth with food, leaving Cait and Audrey to supply the drinks. Hancock had the hardest job of all of them, keeping the Vault dweller busy. Finding most of what they needed wasn’t hard. Keeping it a secret from the Vault dweller, however, was a challenge. She liked to hang around Sanctuary whenever she didn’t have anything urgent to take care of, which made talking about the party difficult. Preston did what he could to keep them busy, sending her and Hancock out to check on things at the Castle or doing status checks on some of the larger settlements.

Over the next week and a half, Piper and Curie salvaged some of the Halloween decorations, and found some old folders to cut up and paint to spell out ‘birthday’. Nick and MacCready went around to Daisy’s, Bunker Hill, and Vault 81 to complete Codsworth’s list. The kids in the Vault were excited to hear about her birthday, and with their teachers help, they made a birthday card that they all signed. People in the Vault were more than happy to give what they could spare, especially after all she did to save Austin. Daisy had some things she kept out of the general stock, but she had contacts that could get the pair what they still needed.

“Thanks for the help, Daisy,” MacCready said as he put away their purchases.

“Don’t mention it. Have you boys thought of what to get her?”

The look on their faces said it all. They had forgotten about presents. Daisy rolled her eyes at them, “Figures…Here, I got something she should like,” she digs through a box behind the counter and pulls out a couple of small, faded hair combs with little plastic pearls along the edge, and wraps them in some paper and string before handing them to Nick. “I’m sure she’ll love them. Thanks again, Daisy.”

Audrey and Cait hit as many bars and abandoned liquor stores as they could find, including Quincy Liquors in the Quincy Ruins, Joe's Spuckies in the Postal Square, However because Audrey was a ghoul, she couldn’t get into Diamond City. Audrey instead went to the Third Rail and Hotel Rexford, while Cait went to the Colonial Taphouse and the Dugout Inn. Yefim haggled over the price of the amount of booze Cait wanted, until she mentioned who it was for.

“What? It’s her birthday?” Vadim shouted from the doorway to the rented rooms. He went behind the bar, pushing his brother aside and pulled out six large bottles of Bobrov’s Moonshine, “Here! On the house! I still owe her for saving my life.”

“Vadim!” Yefim threw up his hands in exasperation, “You can’t keep doing that! Ты пытаешься разрушить нас?”  
Vadim shrugged, “Сооо? дни рождения приходят только один раз в год.”

With a few days left until the party, Hancock was trying his best to keep the Vault dweller busy. She on the other hand, was getting suspicious of Hancock. He normally couldn’t wait to be done with whatever they were doing and get back to Goodneighbor or Sanctuary, but she noticed that he was in no rush to get back. Every time she suggested going home, he would suggest sopping somewhere else. She didn’t mind too much, however, because she got to visit Billy and his parents again, and clear out places she had been meaning to go back to, but she was starting to feel melancholy.

By the time they got to the Red Rocket outside Sanctuary, it was the morning of her birthday.

“Ah, the Red Rocket. Can’t wait to put my feet up.” Hancock said as he rolled his shoulders.

“Yeah,” she replied dejectedly.

“You okay there?”

“Yeah… I think I’m going to stay at the Red Rocket for a bit. Fix up my armor and work on some projects I started.”

“Alright. Don’t stay out too long.”

She watched Hancock head up the road before going into the garage and closing the door. She did want to fix her armor, but she didn’t have the energy to do so. She sat at the workbench and looked at her Pipboy. The dirtied screen reminded her of the date, and she felt her heart drop into her stomach. Before the War, she had looked forward to her birthday and getting to spend it with friends. All her friends and family were now dead, and the places she would go to celebrate were in ruins. Her birthday, which used to be a happy event, was now becoming a reminder that she’s lost everything, even her age. How old was she really, now? Being in the Vault messed with her perception of time, so was she still a young mother? Or was she over 200 years old? The more she thought about it, the lower she felt. She tried switching on the radio, hoping the music would help distract her from her thoughts. Unfortunately, the feeling wasn’t fading, so she decided to go talk to the one person that understood her.

Later on at Sanctuary, people were getting things set up for the party. The Bar the Vault dweller had helped build was decorated with the makeshift birthday garlands and streamers, the tables were cleaned, and the pool table was pushed to the corner of the room, to be used to place all the food that Preston helped Codsworth cook. Audrey was behind the bar, making sure that all the booze was accounted for, while Cait was mixing different drinks for Piper to try. Nick and Hancock were discussing what music to play, when Curie interrupted them.

“Excusez-moi, messieurs, but have you seen the birthday girl anywhere? She was not at home or the Red Rocket.”

Nick rubbed his chin thoughtfully, “Can’t say I have.” He thought for a minute before looking at Hancock, “Say, did she seem okay when you left her at the Red Rocket?”

“Now that you mention it, she seemed kinda down but I didn’t want to push her for an explanation.”

“Well, if she’s where I think she is, it’s probably best that we go get her.”

“You know where she is?”

“Yeah. She’s visiting someone she was close to…Back in the Vault on the hill.”

Nick and Hancock went down into Vault 111 to find their Vault dweller.

“Nick, why would she be down here?”

“His body is still down here. When she can’t pull herself out of a depressive episode, she comes down here to talk to him. Yeah, it seemed a little strange the first time I found out, but it helps her cope, and personally, I would prefer this over her using chems to cope.”

As they got further into the Vault, they could faintly hear some music playing, and eventually found their girl siting in the open pod across from her dead husband. Nick walked over and knelt down in front of her, before gently touching her shoulder.

“Kid?”

She looked up at him, tears dried on her cheeks.

“You still with us?”

She nodded slowly before answering, “Yeah…still here.”

“Good. Do you want to tell us what triggered this?”

“Us?”

“Yeah,” he gestures over at Hancock standing a few feet away, “I brought John with me.”

She looked up at Hancock before quickly looking back down at her Pipboy. “…It’s my birthday today. I should be happy, but I just…”

Nick offered his hand, and she cautiously held it, “Take your time. There’s no rush.”

She was silent a few moments before continuing, “Everyone has been so busy lately, I felt more alone than usual. I guess I was just reminded of how displaced and alone I feel, now that everyone I’ve ever known is gone.”

Both Nick and Hancock realized that they were partially to blame for her feeling like this. Hancock stepped next to her, “I’m sorry, Sunshine. We’ve been busy, but we all have a really good reason for it, and you know damn well that none of this would have been possible if you weren’t here. You’re not alone, you have us and we care about you.”

She chuckled and wiped her tears with her sleeve, “Thanks, John.”

“Now,” Hancock held out his hand, “we all have a surprise for you.”

She took his hand and they both helped her up, “A surprise?”

“Yep. First stop is Curie’s Clinic.”

They all left the Vault, and went straight to the little clinic that she set up for Curie after she became a Gen 3 synth. Curie met them at the door, “Madame, Bon anniversaire! Come, there is not much time!” and pulls her inside. While Nick and Hancock made sure the final preparations were ready, Curie dressed the Vault dweller in a red sequined dress, did up her hair, and applied some homemade makeup. She tried asking Curie why she was getting dressed up, but she refused to tell her anything. When Curie’s work was done, she signaled Nick to come over. He felt his gears stutter when he saw her all dressed up, “Looking real good there, Dollface.”

“Thanks, but why am I dressed up?”

“It’s all part of the surprise,” he held out his arm to escort her, “Ready to go?”

She grabbed his arm, and he started leading her towards the Bar, “Nick, is this a date?”

“Not exactly, but I think this will make you feel better…”

The inside of the Bar was dark, but when they stepped inside, the lights flickered on and everyone shouted, “Happy Birthday!”

She was shocked. Not just because everyone apparently knew it was her birthday, but as she looked around the room, she saw all her friends she had made upon waking up from the Vault, the decorations, and the table of food. The realization hit her that this is why everyone was so busy. They were trying to put together a party just for her.

After she got over the initial shock, the party went into full swing. Everyone drank, ate, and most danced with the birthday girl, and at one point, Magnolia was on the radio _“This song is for a certain birthday girl, who has made many of our lives just a bit brighter. Happy birthday, Darling.”_

When it came time for the gifts, she actually cried. She never expected them to give her presents, much less a party. She loved Daisy’s hair combs and put them in her hair right away. Piper gave her two gifts, with one being from Nat: a blue scarf and a bottle of Nuka-Cola Quantum. Nick gave her a couple of pre-war detective books he scrounged from the old library, Audrey gave her a bottle of wine that hadn’t turned to vinegar from her family estate, MacCready gave her a comic book from his own collection, Cait gave her a pair of boxing gloves, Preston gave her a new gun mod, Curie gave her some little scented soaps that she made, and Hancock gave her some special chems he modified himself, for when she has panic attacks. When she thought things could not get any better, Codsworth presented the birthday cake he made for her. That moved her to tears, again.

The party lasted well into the night, with everyone but Curie, Nick, Codsworth and Audrey getting sufficiently drunk. Once it started to die down, with people either heading to bed or already passed out, Hancock helped the birthday girl back to her little house. She wasn’t quite as drunk as the others, but she looked the happiest that she's been in a while.

“I can’t believe you all did that for me.”

“Heh, well there's one last surprise I got for ya…” Hancock walked over to the beat-up record player she managed to fix, placed a record inside, and turned it on. “I borrowed this from that Deegan fella just for this occasion.”

The record started playing Unchained Melody as he walked up to her and offered his hand. She took it and he lead her into a slow dance. “I didn’t think you danced.”

Hancock chuckled, “Not very often, but it’s your day.”

She blushed and smiled, “Aw, I feel special. I, uh, heard from Nick that this party was your idea…”

“Well, uh…Nick gave me the idea when he said Ellie wanted to have a small celebration for you.”

“Even so, thank you. I think this is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

“No problem, Sunshine. It was worth all the effort to see you smile, also you look damn good in that dress.”

She could feel herself blushing more, “John!”

“What? You look like you jumped straight out of one of those old Pre-War pinup ads.”

She snorted as she hid her face in his shoulder. As the song came to an end, Hancock spun her around before ending the song with a dip.

“You’re a pretty good dancer, John.”

“All part of the package, Sunshine.”

“John…”

“Yeah?”

She gave Hancock a small peck on the cheek and smiled at him, “Thank you for everything.”

Thank god he was a ghoul and she couldn’t see him blushing. “Anything for you, Sunshine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translation: Yefim: “Are you trying to destroy us?” Vadim: “So? Birthdays only come once a year.”


	11. A Little Rain Never Hurt Anyone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hancock wants to hide out ans wait for the rain to pass. The Vault Dweller has other opinions on that. As a result, she gets sick.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned!  
> I've been meaning to post a new story but i never got around to writing it. Between Covid and the Texas snow, I havent had much motivation to really do anything besides youtube and play video games. While i have a few ideas for stories, let me know in the comments if theres a topic or scenario you would like to see me write!

“Sunshine, we really should find someplace to rest,” Hancock warned.

“Why? You tired already?”  
“No, but there’s a storm on the way and while it won’t bother me, I don’t think that you wanna get caught in a Rad storm.”

The Vault Dweller scoffed, “A little rain never hurt anyone, and we can beat it. Besides, we are almost to Sanctuary… just have to pass through Bedford Station and stroll through Concord.”

Hancock didn’t miss the chance to call her out when they got swarmed with ferals at the station. When they got halfway through Concord, they ran into at least a dozen raiders.

“Just a stroll through Concord, eh Sunshine?” Hancock shouted over the gunfire, ducked behind a cement barrier.

She was crouched behind a truck across the street and shouted back, “Hey, at least it’s not-“

She was cut off by the sound of thunder, followed by a downpour. She heard Hancock laugh as she took down another raider, “Stuff it, Hancock!”

They managed to take out the last of the raiders once the rain stopped, but a look at the sky told them that there was more on the way. By the time they got to the Red Rocket, they were in the middle of a Rad storm.

“Let’s stop here for a bit until the rain stops.”

“Hancock, Sanctuary is literally right there and besides, I don’t have any spare clothes here.”

Hancock reluctantly followed, and in hindsight, he wished he was more insistent back at the Station. When he saw her walk up to Mama Murphy across the street the next day, her face was a little flushed and her movement was sluggish.

“Oh my dear, you don’t look well.”

“I’m fine, Mama Murphy. Just got rained on a bit yesterday.”

“Are you sure? The weather isn’t like what you are used to.”

“Yeah, I just dried off when we got back. Felt too tired to wash off properly, but I’m fine. Just have a little headache.”

Nick walked up, “I have to agree with Mama Murphy. You don’t look like you’re doing too hot, kid. In fact, you look like you’re about to pass out.”

She waived him off, dismissively, “Just a bit tired. Didn’t sleep well last night.”

As she saw Hancock walk up out of the corner of her eye, she turned to greet him but that action made her very dizzy, and she stumbled.

Nick tried to steady her, “Whoa there, kid.”

She held her head for a moment before shaking it off, “I’m fine, Nick. Just moved a little too fast.”

“I doubt that, Sunshine. I told you we should have stopped and waited out the rain yesterday.”

She rolled her eyes, “Guys, relax. I’m fine. A little rain never…”

She swayed a little as she stopped mid-sentence before passing out. Both Nick and John managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

“Nick, go get the Doc.”

“On it.”

As Nick ran off to find Curie, Hancock picked up the Vault Dweller and carried her back to her house. As he gently placed her on her bed, he heard Curie enter the house, “ _Monsieur_ Hancock, What happened?”

“I’m hoping you can tell me, Doc. She just passed out.”

He stepped out into the hall to let Curie do her thing. After a while, she came out of the room. “How’s she doing?”

“ _Monsieur_ , she has a high fever as well some minor radiation poisoning. I have given her treatment for the radiation, but I don’t have anything for the fever.”

He rubbed the back of his head, feeling partially to blame. “Will she be okay?”

“ _Je ne suis pas sûr_ , Hancock. We will need to monitor her to make sure her fever doesn’t get any higher, and if her condition changes, just let me know.”

“Alright, thanks Curie.”

As Curie left, Hancock went in to check on her. She had a bag of Radaway hanging from a nail in the wall next to her, attached to her arm. He decided to sit in the chair in the corner, just to keep an eye on her for a bit. He wasn’t too worried about her, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt. After a few minutes, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette and was about to light it when he remembered she didn’t like the smell. He settled for just flipping the lighter cover. Once the Radaway was done, he carefully removed it and bandaged her arm before heading over to the bar.

He ran into Nick as he was leaving, “Hey John, how’s our girl doing?”  
“Curie said she’s got a fever and we just gotta watch her to make sure she doesn’t get worse.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. I’ll go keep an eye on her while, since I don’t have to head back to the Agency for a while.”

Later than night, Hancock went to the Vault Dweller’s house to give Nick a break. Once again, he just sat in the chair and played with the flip lighter while he was lost in thought. After a while, a strange noise caught his attention. Looking around, he didn’t see anything that would cause it. When he heard it again, he noticed where the sound was coming from and felt his stomach drop. He rose from the chair and stood next to the bed. She was sweating and she sounded like she was having a hard time breathing. He ran out of the house to find Curie.

He waited while Curie examined her again, worriedly flipping the lighter as he leaned against the door frame out in the hall.

“ _Monsieur_ Hancock?”  
“How is she, Doc?”

Curie had a worried look on her face, “ _Je suis désolé_ , she has developed Pneumonia.”  
“What’s that?”  
“It is caused by bacteria and makes the lungs fill with fluid. She was already weak from the radiation, and that probably allowed her cold to worsen.”

“Well… what’s the treatment?”

“Normally, she would be given a course of antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory. Unfortunately, we do not have such a thing anymore.”

“What about Stim-paks?”

“Stim-paks only boost ones natural regenerative capabilities. The most it could do is help with any pain she has.”

Hancock sighed, “So what do we do?”

Curie placed a hand on Hancock's’ arm, “We keep her comfortable and wait until the fever goes down, and once she’s awake she will need to stay hydrated. Plenty of water and foods that will be easy on her stomach, like soup.”

“…Alright. I’ll take care of her.”

Curie smiled at him, “That is very kind of you, _monsieur_ Hancock. She is very dear to us all, so we will help as well. I will be back with a clean cloth and some cool water. It will help.”

For the next day, Hancock, Curie, Nick, and even Dogmeat looked after the Vault Dweller in turns… Except for Dogmeat, who pretty much stayed by her side the entire time. It was the early hours of the morning when Hancock realized he fell asleep while watching after her. When he got up to check on her, she looked still and pale. When he saw her breathe without struggling, he relaxed a bit and sat on the edge of the bed. The movement woke her up, and she slowly looked around before her eyes settled on Hancock.

“…John?” her voice was soft and cracked a bit when she spoke.

“Hey, Sunshine. You had us worried there, for a bit.”

“…What happened?”  
“You had a pretty bad fever, and your cold turned into something Curie called, uh… Pneumonia?”

She looked at him for a moment, processing what he said.

“I almost died?”  
“What?”

“You can die from Pneumonia if it gets bad enough.”

John rubbed his face, “…Curie didn’t mention that, but we were all pretty sure you would pull through.”  
“We?”

“Me, Curie, Nick…”

*Dogmeat barks*

“And Dogmeat.”

“Really?”

“Yeah…How are you feeling?”

She slowly tries to sit up a bit, “I feel like ick…”

“Do you think you could eat something?”

She shook her head and grimaced, “No, no food.”

He hands her a bottle of purified water, “Well, you need to drink something. Doctor’s orders.”

She reluctantly takes the bottle and drinks a little before having a coughing fit.

“…I’m sorry.”

“For what?”

“For not listening when you said we should wait for the rain to pass.”

“Well, since you mentioned it, I wasn’t planning on rubbing it in…but I told you so.”

She rolled her eyes as he laughed, “Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” he stood up, “I’ll get let Curie know you’re awake. She’ll wanna check on you.”

As he turned to leave the room, she grabbed the sleeve of his coat, stopping him.

“Hm?”

“…Thanks, John.”

He smirked, “Anything for you, Sunshine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Je ne suis pas sûr - I am unsure  
> Je suis désolé - I am sorry


End file.
